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PULP FICTION COVER: Long before Tarantino's classic crime flick, pulp fiction magazines were a staple of reader's diets.

Pulp Classics Return at the Polasek

By: Shelby Phillips

Posted: 3/5/10

Richard Powers, Alex Schomburg, and Kelly Freas are just a few of the artists being featured at the Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens here in Winter Park. The small exhibit features some of the top names in the pulp fiction genre, the forerunner of comic books, and the escape for thousands of people during the Great Depression.

These books are called "pulp" fiction because of the type of paper they were printed on: cheap, wood pulp paper. For 25 cents, or sometimes less, a reader could enjoy stories by such now famous writers as Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, and H.P. Lovecraft. However, it was the art that caused a stir with covers by artists like James Allen St. John, who worked with writer Edgar Rice Burroughs on the covers of some of the latter's John Carter books. Now, one of the books that St. John worked on with Burroughs, "A Princess of Mars," is on its way to becoming a full-length feature film (called "John Carter of Mars"), produced by Disney and directed by Andrew Stanton. St. John himself had a 45-year long career during which he continued to do covers for Burroughs but also did work for magazines such as Weird Tales, Amazing Stories, and FATE. In addition to all of this, he taught at the Art Institute of Chicago for 20 years as well as at the American Academy of Art.

One of my personal favorite pulp fiction artists is Margaret Brundage. Brundage worked for Weird Tales Magazine in Chicago from 1932 until 1938 when the company moved to New York. In these six years, Margaret produced some of the most provocative covers for Weird Tales including "The Witch's Mark" in 1938 and "The Alter of Melektaos" in 1932. Working purely in pastels, Brundage's work reflects her background in art and fashion design. In a time when most covers showed the male hero, Brundage drew beautiful, bewitching, and highly sexy women for the covers of Weird Tales.

Unfortunately, when word got out that these fantastic covers were drawn by a woman instead of a man, the public was outraged. Fortunately, Margaret Brundage had a great editor who only smiled and gave her more work, knowing that with public outrage comes higher sales. The tragedy is that because Brundage worked in pastels before the protective spray that we now use was developed, much of her work has been lost or destroyed.

The further you venture into the showroom the more surprises you come across, such as work by Frank Frazetta. Frazetta is widely known for his ability to capture action in his work as well as for working with author Robert E. Howard to create the cover art for the now famous hero, "Conan the Barbarian." On display is his cover art work for the Burroughs story, "Swords of Mars." Produced in 1966, Frazetta's exquisite oil painting on canvas board. The collection will stay on display until April 18 of this year. There will also be a special presentation, given by Rollins' own Paul Reich, called "The History of the Pulps: Science Fiction, Mysteries and Westerns" on Thursday, March 11 at 7:00 p.m. at the Winter Park Library." Go and see these great works of art and make sure to visit Dr. Reich at his presentation! Also remember to check out the official Web site for more information: www.maidensandmonsters.com